SEWERS are a vital artery for a clean healthy life - and it’s in everyone’s interests to look after them.

They take the waste of 2.6 million people in the North-east away for treatment so the cleaned waste water can be safely returned to the environment.

Currently some 16,000 km of sewers are managed by the region’s water company, Northumbrian Water.

This autumn about another 13,500km of drains and sewers, which were previously private responsibility, will also switch to the water company.

The national change, introduced by the Government, comes into effect on Saturday 1 October, 2011.

However, not all pipes will transfer. Householders, landlords and businesses will still remain responsible for private drains serving their property within its boundary as well as gutters and downpipes, as the graphic below shows.

The pipes that will transfer from private to water company ownership are those outside the boundary or those within the boundary which are shared by other properties and which connect into the existing water company public sewer often located in the roadway.

Northumbrian Water is writing to all its customers informing them of the details of the change. The transfer will be automatic and customers do not need to take any action or contact the company.

Alistair Baker, communications and PR manager for Northumbrian Water said: “Blockages in sewers cause homes to flood and damage the environment and North-east bathroom habits are rubbish - literally.

“They are amongst the worst in the country for using the toilet as a rubbish bin, flushing items, especially sanitary related products, which can end up on the region’s beaches.

“Disposable products such as tampons, sanitary towels, nappies, wet wipes, toilet roll tubes, cotton buds and condoms should be put in a bin and not flushed down the toilet.”

The water company spends hundreds of thousands of pounds a year screening debris out of the sewer network sending a staggering 9,000 tonnes of sewage related debris to landfill every year from its 437 sewage treatment works.

And costs are ultimately paid by customers in their bills so it’s in everyone’s interest to bag it and bin it.

Since 2005 Northumbrian Water has completed 165 projects costing more than £100m to reduce the risk of flooding to almost 1,000 homes throughout the region. Another £25m is being spent this year to further reduce the risk to another 230 homes.

But all that work won’t help if sewers are blocked by items that have been flushed instead of being binned.

Fighting the fat

Fats. oils and grease are other sources of sewer blockages.

Every day people and businesses pour hundreds of litres of fat, cooking oil and roasting juices down the sink.

The fat cools and hardens on the walls of the sewer pipe and blocks it.

The correct way to dispose of it is to scrape off all food waste into a kitchen bin before washing up, wiping clean any remaining gravy, sauces and grease with a paper towel.

Larger quantities of oil and grease left over from cooking should be poured into a container or some old newspaper and left to cool before being discarded in a bin.

A fun and environmentally-friendly way to dispose of unwanted fat is to make bird cakes by mixing seeds, nuts, oatmeal or dried fruit into a pot of warm fat. Once the mixture has cooled, the cakes can be made and hung from a garden tree or bird table.

Further details about the transfer of drains and sewers, including additional information, illustrations, frequently asked questions, an explanatory video and advice about looking after private drains can be found by logging onto Northumbrian Water’s website: www.nwl.co.uk

Northumbrian Water does not expect customers to see any impact on their bills as a result of the transfer for at least three years and the government estimates that the cost will eventually be between 6p to 27p a week.